Trapped with Colin

In a five-star hotel called Peninsula International in Zugrurg, at the window of Room 2208, stood a woman in a long red wine colored sweater. The room was on the 22nd Floor, the Presidential Suite. Her hair was pinned on the top of her head and she held a cup of newly decanted wine in her hand.

The woman was pretty with long, curly eyelashes that glittered in the sun. The tip of her nose was slightly turned up, and her pursed lips were adorned with queen red lipstick.

A dainty pair of spectacles with black frames balanced delicately on the bridge of her nose, lending her a professional appearance.

The sky loomed with dark clouds.

The setting reminded her of the same day, a year and a half ago.

As lightning lit up the horizon, the woman knew it would rain at any time.

The woman recalled a fateful day during her time at the women's prison in the West of Ascea.

The warden escorted by two policewomen entered the room. One policewoman shouted, "No. 296, you can go!"

The needlework the prisoner was working on, fell to the ground.

Over the past one and a half years, she had heard this statement many times. Every time she had hoped the policewoman would call her number. But she never did. Not until today.

"You can go." Of course, she understood what it meant.

It meant that she was free. She could finally leave the prison.

After a while, the prison's high gates opened slowly. A girl in dark green clothes walked through. Her chubby figure had become slimmer after her one and a half year stay in prison.

Though she had lost a lot of weight, her face was still round.

Not far from the gate stood a couple holding an umbrella. The man looked dignified, and the woman was graceful. Although they were middle-aged, the years had been kind to them.

At the sight of the girl, the older woman walked toward her. "Oh, my honey, you have suffered a lot!"

She gently caressed the girl's face. Her face used to be plump, but now it looked thinner.

For Sophia Bailey, these simple, welcoming words felt like spring in the desert.

"Aunt (Chinese way of showing politeness, not real Aunt), it is you who got me out of here." The older woman nodded in affirmation.

The man also came forward. He was followed by an orderly who held out umbrellas for them.

Wendy shook her head, "It's your Uncle (Chinese way of showing politeness, not real Uncle). He found the relationship for you."

Sophia nodded, took a step back, and bowed deeply, "Uncle, Aunt, thank you very much. I shall always remember your kindness."

"Don't mention it, my dear. Let's go!" Wendy seated Sophia in Newman's car before getting in.

At Newman's, led by Wendy, Sophia entered a big room, where she took a soothing bath and put on clothes provided by Wendy.

The clothes were loose.

Wendy had bought clothes for Sophia in her original size.

She used to be very fat. She was 163cm in height but had weighed more than 150 pounds.

When Sophia was ready, she was led to the dining room by the servant.

The meal was very lavish. And it had been specially prepared for her; four dishes including soup.

Taking the rice the servant offered, Sophia politely nodded and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Miss Bailey. Please be careful. It is hot!"

The concern shown by Newman's servant moved Sophia.

She smiled as she picked up a piece of fish. It was her favorite meal. In the past, she usually had steamed fish every second or third day. But she hadn't eaten fish during her time in jail.

After the meal, she went in search of the couple. The servant had informed her that they would be in the study and that they had been waiting for a while.

"I didn't know you had grown thinner. The clothes I got are too large. I will note it for later." Wendy looked tenderly at Sophia while speaking.

Sophia shook her head and said, "No, Aunt. They fit me well. Thank you very much."

Sophia did feel grateful. She had gotten out of jail three years and a half years earlier than her sentence, eaten fish, meat and hot rice, and had taken her first comfortable bath in a long time. She also had new clothes. She was grateful that her mother had been friends with Wendy!

Everything was very well indeed.

"Well, you can settle here. If you have any problems, tell us at any time, OK?"

Sophia wanted to cry.

But she resisted the urge, "Thank you, Uncle and Aunt."

"I didn't know what happened to your parents until recently. I thought your father had followed your mother on her archeological research. When I recently attended a tea party, I knew something had happened to your family."

Sophia gently nodded and said, "My dad went mad and was sent to a suburban psychiatric hospital. But my mom had been framed and died in the ancient tomb."

The police had said that the ancient tomb had naturally collapsed while her mother was inside.

But Sophia didn't believe it! She knew several professors had accompanied her mother. How was it that they were all safe, and her mother had been the only one to die mysteriously?

"In which psychiatric hospital is your father? Why didn't you ask me for help after things happened? How did you end up in jail?" Wendy took Sophia's hand and sat on the couch.

Some things were difficult for Sophia to tell. How could she explain her imprisonment?

"My father is in a suburban psychiatric hospital in Alorith Town now. Several days after my parent's accident, I was framed by Dorothy and sentenced to prison for attempted murder."

"Dorothy and that man must have been married by now." thought Sophia.

"Attempted murder!" Wendy was surprised by the story. Sophia was such an innocent and lively girl. How could she kill somebody?

"Aunt, I didn't kill anybody." She explained to Wendy, looking into her eyes with sincerity.

Wendy shook her head, "I believe you. It's impossible for you to kill anybody. But this is all in the past. You should stop thinking about it so much. I'll ask your Uncle to investigate the cause of your mother's death."

"Thanks, Aunt. I still have one thing to ask of you." Sophia pleaded.

Wendy patted the back of Sophia's hand, "Go ahead."

"Since my family's accident, my brother has disappeared." Her brother was just 18 years old, still a child in her eyes.

Wendy understood. Jordan who was sitting nearby, took out his cellphone and began to make a phone call.

Later that afternoon, accompanied by Wendy, Sophia went to the psychiatric hospital in Alorith Town.

Jay Bailey, who used to be a suave university professor, was now skinny. His eyes had lost their sparkle.

His hair was a mess, and his clothes were very dirty.

As nobody was paying for his treatment, the hospital was going to give up on his care.

Sophia tried speaking with him many times, but he didn't give her any response. When she was about to give up, Jay suddenly chuckled and pointed at Sophia, "Look, how silly you are when you cry! Hey hey."

Seeing this, Sophia couldn't help but cry out loud.

Jordan handled the transfer procedures for Jay. He was now being transferred to the best psychiatric hospital in Ascea. Jordan also made sure that the best neurologists were going to treat Jay.

On the fourth day at Newman's, Wendy called Sophia to her room and asked her to promise her one thing.

For Sophia, it was a great opportunity to pay back Wendy. "Auntie, please don't hesitate to ask."

She would try her best to do whatever she could.

"I have two sons. The elder one, Colin, is nearing thirty this year. However, he still hasn't found a woman to take care of him.

I want you to marry Colin. To be by his side, and take care of him."

Sophia had not expected that the first help Wendy would ask for was to marry her elder son.

"But Auntie, you know I am not good in house affairs." Before the Bailey clan declined, Sophia, although not a lady in a rich and powerful family, she was her parents favorite and was not allowed to do any housework.

"It doesn't matter. We have maids to do housework.

You don't need to do anything." "Will Colin agree?" Sophia was uncomfortable with the idea of marrying a stranger.

"His opinion hardly matters. That troublesome boy is almost thirty and has not brought me a daughter-in-law! Please tell Auntie whether you will or not. I will understand if you don't want to marry him.

Kid, don't put yourself in a dilemma." "Auntie, please give me some time to think about it." Sophia said the words with a bowed head.

Wendy left her alone in the room.

She went to a window sill. Looking out of the window silently, she recalled a man's figure in her mind.

The man said to her, "Sophia, I will beg your father to let you marry me next year after I graduate."

However, the man, who had promised to marry her, was in the arms of another woman because of power.

After the engagement, he came to find her and said, "Sophia, the one that I love is you, not her. I will get a divorce with her when my position is stable. Please wait for me."

How had that turned out?

Dorothy Campbell had found out that her fiancé was in love with Sophia. No wonder she was treating Sophia poorly. At first, Dorothy made all kinds of plans to embarrass Sophia. When that was not enough, she planned to send Sophia to prison along with her beloved man.

Sophia closed her eyes. She suppressed her emotions. Determined to put the past behind her, she opened the bedroom door and found Wendy. "Auntie, I promise you."

After a few days, Colin came back from Zugrurg.

It was the first meeting for Colin and Sophia because he had lived in America for his work.

Wendy and Julia, Sophia's mother, had only befriended each other after Colin had gone to America.

This is why the two hadn't met before.

The man was tall and good looking. Traits he had inherited from Jordan. He nodded his head at Sophia as a way of greeting.

Colin looked at his mother in shock when Wendy shared her idea. "Mom, are you insane? You want her to be your daughter-in-law?"

"Yes, I am insane!" Wendy answered him directly.

Colin looked at the silent Sophia. His measuring look made Sophia uncomfortable.

Knowing that Colin was making Sophia uncomfortable on purpose, Wendy gave him a light slap. "Be polite to Sophia!"

Colin ignored his mother and went to Sophia He lifted her chin with his right hand. "Where did you come from? You have brainwashed my mother."

Colin knew that he was good looking. He had been chased by countless girls since primary school.

However, it was Sophia, only she, who had been able to convince his dear mother to marry them.

"Sophia, Sophia, should we name you, Soapy?"

Colin firmly believed that Sophia had a reason to get close to Wendy. As to this reason, he would find out!

Colin's taunt made Sophia blush. She clenched her fist and forced his hand off her face.

Colin pretended to nurse his hand. "Yo? What a temper!" "I should tell you that I already love someone else. You can leave now! Do you understand?"

Wendy got a headache. When had Colin become so flirty? When did he love a girl? She smiled at the thought. As his mother, she should would have known if he had a loved girl!

"Colin, if you don't agree to this, we will not be mother and son!"

Colin smiled. "Good!"

All of a sudden, Wendy remembered that her son could be persuaded by reason but not by force. She wiped pretend tears. "You can go now. Why did I give birth to an ungrateful son?"

The next day, Colin and Sophia appeared at the Registry of Marriages.

The sound of the doorbell drew Sophia's mind away from the past and back to reality.

The glass had been emptied of its content a long time ago.

She put down the glass and walked towards the door.

Colin stood on the other side, dressed in a suit.

She looked into his eyes and saw only disgust.

"Mr. Newman." She presented a respectful greeting.

Colin pushed her aside, walked into the presidential suite, and sat on the sofa. He looked at Sophia and asked, "Soapy, why did you tear the cooperation contract with Campbell clan?"

Having heard Colin call her Soapy for so long, she had gotten used to the ridicule.

"If Mr. Newman really wants to cooperate with the Campbell clan, please ask someone else to negotiate." She didn't want to do that at all!

"Why? Just because their representative is your ex-boyfriend?" Colin's face mimicked the sarcasm in his voice. He had heard that his wife had had a very rich private life.

His mention of Payne brought coldness in Sophia's eyes.

"Yes, what of it?" Right now, Sophia was Colin's private secretary and she handled the common cooperation cases.

"Since he betrayed you, you are using SL to get vengeance? Sophia, how dare you!" Colin's legs were on the tea table and his voice was lazy, which made it hard for Sophia to judge his feelings.

Sophia turned around and walked into the kitchen. "What do you want to eat?"

"Nothing!" Colin stood up and walked to the door.

He threw her some keys before leaving "You know the villa's address and these are the keys. Pick a room and move in."

He closed the door forcefully and left as quickly as he had arrived.

Sophia looked at the keys on the sofa with bitterness. Their marriage was just in name.

Maybe it was Wendy who had forced Colin to give Sophia the villa's keys.

As expected, the day after Sophia moved in, her mother-in-law came to Colin's villa in Zugrurg.

Sophia was still in a meeting with Colin at the company when Wendy called her.

Maybe it was a sudden inspection. After work, Colin warned Sophia as she drove to the villa, "Don't say anything absurd in front of my mother and sleep in my bedroom tonight!"

"As you wish, Mr. Newman!" Sophia promised lightly and continued driving carefully.

At the villa, the maids were busy preparing dinner. Wendy looked unhappy at the sight of the couple.

"Mom, you are here!" Sophia changed her shoes and greeted Wendy with a smile.

Wendy's smile made Colin jealous. He murmured that she had not given him a smile yet!

"Sophia, come and sit." Wendy said to Sophia and then glared at her son, "Colin, come here!"

Colin pushed Sophia aside. Sophia felt like laughing at Collin for he looked like a cute young boy from behind.

"Mother, I thought you'd come tomorrow." "Why?" Colin sat beside Wendy and passed the fruit bowl to his mother.

But she pushed it away and scowled at him, "Now tell me, why do you not sleep with Sophia?"

Hearing that, Colin darted an angry look at the woman who just sat down. Snitch!

"It's not Sophia. I see that you two sleep separately, okay?" Sighed Wendy.

She was looking for a bedroom to relax in after she arrived at the villa and happened to see that the couple didn't sleep together. She was upset.

Colin tore his angry gaze away from Sophia after he heard that.

"Well, mother, the thing is, I caught a cold. I was afraid I would pass it to Sophia. So we slept separately. It's only temporary."

Sophia was shocked. She could hardly believe that the honest man she saw at work would lie!

Wendy was skeptical.

Sophia didn't recover from the shock until Colin winked at her.

"Mother, please don't be angry. It's true. It's my fault. I didn't take good care of M... Colin." Sophia had almost said Mr. Newman. Fortunately, she realized her mistake immediately.

Wendy patted Sophia on the back of her hand and said, "My silly girl, he is already a man. It's not your fault that he got sick." And then she warned Colin, "If you don't take good care of Sophia when I'm not here, I'll tell your father to break your legs!"

Colin lifted his brow. Sophia must have really enchanted her. His mother had never snapped at him before. But now, she was threatening him. And for a nobody!

Sophia didn't want to get Wendy angry, "Mother, Colin is good to me. Really."

In fact, things were so good that Sophia felt she wasn't married. That she was free.

During dinner, Colin put a shrimp dumpling onto Sophia's plate, and spoke to her with a doting voice, "Baby, try this."

Baby... This was the first time that he had called her baby.

They had kept their marriage a secret from others. They behaved professionally whenever they were at the company or at meetings outside the company. No one knew that she was Colin's wife.

Colin had warned her long before that she must not do anything in his name.

So if he hadn't call her baby just now, she would have forgotten that they had been married.

Wendy was satisfied with Colin's act, and turned her eyes to Sophia. She found Sophia was staring blankly.

"What's wrong, Sophia? What are you thinking?"

"Oh... Nothing. Just uh... something at work. Mother, try these shrimp dumplings."

Sophia put the shrimp dumpling which Colin gave her onto Wendy's plate.

Colin's face darkened. Did she loathe him? Did she not even want to eat what he had given her?

When they were going to bed at night, in front of Wendy, Sophia deliberately asked Colin, "Are you feeling better?"

Colin understood what she was trying to do and nodded, "We can sleep together tonight."

"... OK." Sophia said.

Then Sophia carried her quilt to Colin's bedroom.

Watching the cute couple close the door, Wendy went back to her room feeling relieved.

For the first time, Sophia was in Colin's room. It was quite large. At least sixty square meters.

There were not many colors in the room. It was mostly black, white and grey, with some dark blue.

From the extra-large black wooden bed and a filled wine rack, Sophia could tell that Colin knew how to enjoy life.

Sophia threw her white quilt onto the big bed. She took Colin's grey quilt and walked toward the sofa.

"What are you doing?" Colin was loosening his tie when he saw Sophia carrying his quilt.

Sophia passed him and threw his quilt on the sofa before replying coolly, "It's time for you to be a gentleman."

His pillow followed next. Now Colin knew what she meant.

"Sophia, this is my house!" Colin placed his hands on his hips, and looked at the woman who thought herself to be the owner of the house.

Sophia asked, "So you won't sleep on the sofa?"

"No."

"Fine." It was fine. It had dawned on Sophia that she had work left to do. She could stay up.

She moved her quilt from the bed onto the armchair, and then she opened the door and walked out.

Suddenly, she was dragged back to the room by a great force and met a pair of angry eyes.

Bang! The door slammed shut and in the next moment, Sophia found herself pressed against the door.

"Want to tell on me? Sophia, is that what you want? To make my mother angry?" Colin looked down at the expressionless woman with a glint of anger in his eyes.

Incidentally, this was the first time that they were so close. Almost hugging.

A faint fragrance drifted off of Sophia. The smell was so good...

So good that all his anger was gone in a moment.

She was an unusual woman.

Before she could speak, Colin let go of Sophia, trying to cover his embarrassment.

"Psycho!" That said, Sophia turned to open the door.

Colin looked at the woman in disbelief. She had just called him psycho!

"Sophia, did you forget who you are?" Said Colin coldly.

Sophia stopped, turned around and said, "In this house, I am your wife. And that means I am the Lady of this villa. And you, you are not Mr. Newman or my boss. You are my husband! And husbands and wives are equal!"

Colin had never met such a strong woman.

And this woman was his wife!

Thinking about what Sophia had said, Colin found that she did make sense in a way.

So he leaned against the door, and smirked, "Well, good point. But did you know, my dear wife, that a wife should satisfy her husband's need."

Sophia sneered and asked directly, "What? You want to get into my pants?"

Colin looked into her eyes and said, "Unlikable woman!" "Mr. Newman, that secretary Miss Glyn is likable, charming, and young.

Above all, she really likes you. How about you call her?"

Huh, unlikable. Sophia didn't know what "likable" was anymore.